MMR vaccine row doctor was 'inexperienced'

The doctor at the centre of the MMR vaccine row had limited experience of the medical ethics surrounding paediatrics, a disciplinary hearing heard yesterday.

Dr Andrew Wakefield had "no training and extremely limited experience" in requesting parental consent for samples taken from children, General Medical Council lawyers said.

The 51-year-old had no formal paediatric qualifications and prior to 1996, had not been involved in any clinical research on children, the hearing was told.

The father of four, who now lives and works in the US, appeared before the organisation's fitness to practise panel in central London, where he was cross-examined by GMC lawyers.

Wakefield sparked controversy in the late 1990s, when he said he believed he had uncovered a link between the MMR jab, bowel disease and autism.

His MMR research, published in the Lancet, caused a large drop in the number of children given the triple jab for measles, mumps and rubella.

MMR coverage fell to 80%, well below the recommended 95%, leading the government and autism experts to spend years trying to dispel the findings.

He is charged with serious professional misconduct, alongside professors John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch. The trio deny the charges.

The central allegations against the men relate to investigations for their study on 12 youngsters with bowel disorders carried out between 1996 and 1998.

At the time all three doctors were employed at the Royal Free Hospital medical school in London, with honorary clinical contracts at the Royal Free Hospital.

Wakefield admitted that he was not aware of "detailed guidance" on the treatment of children provided by the British Paediatric Association and said that his colleague Walker-Smith was the expert in this field.

He admitted that prior to 1996, apart from publishing a case report, he had not been involved in any clinical research on children.